LOS ANGELES, July 14 -- A doctor who examined O.J. Simpson three days after the football legend's ex-wife and her friend were murdered testified Friday he had cuts on his left hand that could have been caused by a knife, but looked more consistent with glass. Dr. Robert Huizenga said 'a knife is a possibility' of the source of the cuts on Simpson's left hand, but that they 'seemed to be more consistent with glass.' Prosecutors contend that Simpson cut his finger during a struggle with one of the victims. Simpson's defense team claims he broke a glass and cut his finger after a police officer telephoned him to notify him his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, had been killed. Simpson's chief defense attorney, Johnnie Cochran Jr., told the jury during opening statements that Simpson cut the tip of his finger while he was at his Brentwood mansion, but that no one saw any injuries to the knuckle area of his hand until he returned from Chicago. The doctor said the only new injuries he saw on Simpson during examinations in June 1994 -- days after the murders -- were three cuts on the fingers of Simpson's left hand and a paper cut near the tip of the fourth finger on Simpson's right hand and several scratches to Simpson's left hand. Suggesting that the attacker might have been wounded as the murder victims tried to defend themselves, Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro elicited the doctor's testimony that he did not see any fresh wounds anywhere else on Simpson's head or body.
Simpson, 48, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the June 12, 1994 stabbing and slashing deaths of Nicole Simpson, 35, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, 25, outside her Brentwood condominium. Cochran told the jury during opening statements in January that Simpson suffered from chronic rheumatoid arthritis so bad that he could not shuffle a deck of cards the day of the murders, much less kill two healthy young people. Trying to bolster that theory Friday, the defense elicited Huizenga's testimony that Simpson was 'visibly limping' into his June 15 office visit, three days after the murders. 'Although he looked like Tarzan, you know, he was walking more like Tarzan's grandfather,' the doctor said. Huizenga, who was the Los Angeles Raiders' team doctor for seven years, said Simpson displayed the 'typical array of post NFL syndrome injuries' that afflict professional football players. The doctor said he believes Simpson suffers from two types of arthritis -- rheumatoid arthritis and another form caused by 'wear and tear,' and that he would have difficulty playing sports that required quick movement or running. 'I think his ability for lateral movement would definitely be diminished based on his left knee and right ankle problems on the date I saw him on the 15th,' Huizenga said. The doctor said Simpson would probably have difficulty moving quickly or running, and that he likely had the same problems on June 12. In a cross-examination largely devoted to medical issues, prosecutor Brian Kelberg elicited the doctor's testimony that tests on a sample of Simpson's blood showed no apparent signs of an active episode of rheumatoid arthritis. Simpson also appeared to have 'definite strength' and a normal grip in which he would be able to hold a knife, the doctor said. Kelberg suggested Simpson may have had a motive to lie about his symptoms' when he was examined by the doctor -- a factor Huizenga said he considered. 'My report is based on the history that I obtained from him and the observations I made of him,' the internist said. 'He may say whatever he wants, but the physical examination in certain aspects is difficult to 'lie about.' That's an absolute finding.' The doctor said he was primarily concerned with Simpson's mental state in the days after the murders -- an aspect he did not discuss in front of the jury. Prosecutors have indicated they intend to show the jury an exercise video Simpson made several weeks before the murders to dispute the defense's claims that Simpson was physically incapable of committing the killings.
